


Mrs Percy Weasley to be & the subtle art of Divination

by mcepl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Divination, Gen, Muggle Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcepl/pseuds/mcepl
Summary: My random thought on chapter 27 of “Mr and Mrs Percy Weasley”, no copyright infringement intended, and certainly I don’t want to measure to the quality of that really good story; it is meant to happen during the second visit of the dilapidated house mentioned in the chapter. Very kindly co-authored by the original author.
Relationships: Audrey Weasley/Percy Weasley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	Mrs Percy Weasley to be & the subtle art of Divination

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Singular_Oddities](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singular_Oddities/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Mr and Mrs Percy Weasley](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/621115) by SingularOddities. 



Her Dad had arranged the second viewing as promised and they had dutifully returned to Madrid Street at the appointed time. Percy and her Mum had gone upstairs to examine the bedrooms and bathroom again, leaving Audrey and her dad alone in the decrepit kitchen. Everything was so dirty and grimy that they had nowhere to lean, so they were just standing in the middle of the room not knowing what to say.

Finally, her dad broke the growing silence. “Audrey, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t know how to start because it goes against all I believe in. But, you know, we were told something about your husband before you were even born.”

“Dad, you believe in prophecies?” Audrey was uneasy about not being able to tell her parents about who Percy really was, and so it was weird that her Dad had brought up the theme of magic. Moreover, her Dad was always quite a down to earth man, never interested in anything irrational, as he would call it.

“No, of course not. However, …,” he looked around them like he was checking they were alone in the room. “There is this really weird story about an old Gypsy fortune-teller and you. When your Mum was eight months pregnant, we went to that country fair not far from your grandparents’ house. The weather was good, it was still warm, we bought some fresh apple cider, it was such a pleasant moment. Everything felt very old-fashioned and nostalgic but really right. We had a great time.”

Her dad paused, clearly considering if he should continue, so Audrey made an encouraging noise.

“It was just as I was thinking we should be leaving, we met her, the Gypsy. She was obviously a Gypsy, but she didn’t have a booth or anything. She was just standing there, soliciting people for money for her fortune-telling. I wanted to pass her, I don’t believe in that kind of thing. I always prefer when beggars are honest, and ask for help rather than swindling people out of their money for some hocus-pocus. However, she didn’t let us pass. She stood in our way and spoke to us.”

Her dad paused again, looking at her as if to check her reaction. “She didn’t have much of an accent, her English was perfectly clear. She looked right at me and said ‘Dear Sir, you want to know the future of your daughter, don’t you?’ I mean that was surprising. How could she know the sex of our child? We had been told by the doctor that we were having a girl just two days before, at the check-up. We hadn’t decided on a name, you were still Bump at that point. Perhaps she tried it knowing that she had a fifty-fifty chance to get it right? Perhaps, but still, it made me stop and listen to her.

Then she said, ‘Don’t worry, Sir, I am not a charlatan. I will read your lady her hand, and only if you consider my prediction valuable, will you pay me.’

Well, I thought we had nothing to lose if it was just going to be the standard platitudes we wouldn’t pay her. I turned to your Mum, and she seemed to be curious enough to go on with it. Your Mum extended her hand towards the Gypsy and let her see her palm. She took your Mum’s hand and studied it rather intensely. I was surprised how long it took her to come up with an answer. I expected her to provide us with some canned response quickly, but she really studied her hand thoroughly. Then she started talking to your Mum.

‘Dear Lady, it is always difficult to predict the future of a child from the mother’s hand, so I don’t see everything, but this is what I see. She will be born happy, bright, and stubborn like her mother.’

I have to admit that I remember thinking her cold-reading skills were pretty good. I mean she really read your Mum right. Then she started describing you saying you would be healthy, but wouldn’t excel in school, but you’d want to pursue family traditions which would ostracise you from people. Again, it sounded crazily specific, and well, I guess she got it right, didn’t she? How many of your peers are interested in the antique business?”

“So you’re telling me a fortune-teller told you and Mum I’d want to work for Grandma and Grandad?” Audrey asked in disbelief.

Her dad shrugged. “No, to be honest, I thought she was just suggesting what every parent wants to hear, that you’d want to emulate us. It was twenty-two years ago, so I don’t remember it word for word and that wasn’t the bit that really caught my attention.”

“So what was?”

“She said you’d meet your husband after your twentieth birthday. That there would be darkness for a time early on but you’d get through it together. Then she stopped, she looked at us both and at your Mum’s hand, and she said that your husband would be different, that he would be more than he appeared.

Then she let go of your Mum’s hand and named her price. It stuck with me you know, and I just remember how she looked at us, and her, well, the confusion, I suppose. She might have just been hamming it up to make sure she got paid but I never really liked that answer. You know me, I don’t believe in fortune-telling, I never cared about horoscopes or such crap, but this woman really made such an impression on me, that I have been wondering since then, what that all meant if anything.”

Audrey looked at her Dad who was stood watching her for her reaction.

He shuffled his feet, crossing his arms a little embarrassedly. “So, is Percy somehow different? I like him, don’t get me wrong, but really he looks more like some kind of clerk, the most unexceptional person possible.”

Audrey smiled at him reassuringly. “Of course he is exceptional, I really do think he is ‘The One’.” She stopped and silently cursed the necessary need for secrecy. For a second, she considered telling her Dad the truth, but then she thought about the risk of Percy spending the rest of his life in the wizard prison. She couldn’t, but she decided she would tell her parents if she really needed some help, or if she was in danger or something. The current situation certainly didn’t require such drastic measures.

Audrey made to reassure her Dad laying her hand on his arm. “Appearances can be deceiving, he might look like he is boring, he isn’t. Many people don’t see it, but he is funny, caring, and really dependable. I’m not saying he’s a superhero or anything, he’s not from Krypton, and I don't think he could stop a train with his bare hands. I don’t know what she meant about the darkness for a time, but do not worry, Percy and I are alright, there’s nothing to worry about.”

The sound of footsteps on the stairs broke them apart, a silent look filled with wry, embarrassed smiles passed between them, acknowledging that the conversation wouldn’t be mentioned.


End file.
